It was a hot summer day, and Abigail McLean had just finished working out. “I felt this weird lump in my neck, but I didn’t think anything of it,” she says. Initially, her general practitioner thought it was an infection that wasn’t a serious problem. However, the lump got bigger and was followed by the development of a second lump. Eventually, McLean couldn’t even feel her collarbone. After a scan and biopsy, McLean, 31, was eventually diagnosed with nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma (NSCHL). “They asked on the phone call if I had a preference on where I was treated,” she says. “I said I wanted to see someone immediately at The James — no other facility in Columbus crossed my mind.” This was the beginning of McLain’s cancer journey, which included chemotherapy and radiation, the support of a loving family and a triumphant, 100-mile bike ride that will help her fellow patients at The James. The first visit A few days after her diagnosis, McLean and her partner, Mark Sweeney, met with Narendranath Epperla, MD, MS, in his office at The James. McLean and Sweeney were nervous and scared. “He pulled out a white board and broke everything down for me,” McLean says. “He took his time and went through everything — the science, the treatment options, my fertility options. For the first time, I felt like we had a plan and someone we could trust.” The plan included four rounds of chemotherapy, followed, if necessary, with radiation treatment. A well-dressed patient McLean began her treatment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cancer patients are at higher risk for serious complications from COVID-19, which meant that McLean had to isolate herself from the outside world. “I’m a social person — a chatterbox — so it was hard,” says McLean, a sales representative. Her weekly chemotherapy infusions were among the few times she left home, and McLean decided to make the most of her visits to The James by dressing up for the occasions. She wore her fanciest outfits — high heels, fancy hats and hoop earrings. “I was sick and bald and had bags under my eyes,” McLean says, adding her one-woman fashion show helped her feel good about herself, reduce some anxiety and have a little fun in the midst of difficult times. Plus, McLean’s outfits brought smiles to The James staff members she interacted and bonded with. A special caregiver McLean and Sweeney have been together for several years, and shortly before McLean’s cancer diagnosis, they bought a home they’re now in the midst of renovating. Sweeney’s two sons, Sam, 11, and Maddox, 9, live with them. “I’ve never felt a bond with someone the way I do with Mark after what we went through, being together, all day, every day, for nine months [during her treatment],” McLean says. “He definitely thrives in the caregiver role and put my well-being above his own.” Cycling through radiation The initial hope was that radiation wouldn’t be necessary, “but there was still some activity in my lymph nodes,” McLean says. Shortly before her 10 radiation treatments were set to begin, McLean decided she was going to ride in Pelotonia — an annual Ohio cycling that supports cancer research at The James. The event was scheduled for August, 2021 — a little less than a year after her diagnosis and only a few months after her final radiation treatment. She also decided she was going to ride every day while she underwent those treatments, no matter how tired she was, and make it a Pelotonia fundraiser. “I wasn’t a cyclist. I walked into a local bike shop and told the woman there I was going to ride 100 miles in Pelotonia and needed a bike,” McLean says. “I was bald and sick and had just finished chemo, and sure didn’t look like a cyclist. They set me up with a bike and clip-in shoes and everything else I needed.” McLean hoped to raise $1,000 with her #AbigailsRadiationRides fundraiser. She surpassed the $2,000 mark on day two and eventually raised more than $23,000 for The James. A family affair When Pelotonia 2021 arrived, a three-car caravan of family members and friends followed McLean along the 100-mile route, “I wouldn’t have made it without them,” she says, also giving credit to her riding partners, Meagan Natale and Lauren Worley. “It was really emotional and really brought everything full circle and started the healing process,” McLean says. “It made me see that I could have a life post-treatment, and I could thrive. It was a great way to shut the door on treatment and realize I could move forward and start a new chapter.”